What the America's Cup Is Missing: Americans

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Oracle Team USA
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

July 4, 2013 5:07 p.m. ET

The America's Cup held its opening ceremony in San Francisco on the Fourth of July. Representing the red, white and blue in yachting's premier competition is Oracle Team USA, which has emblazoned the nation's flag atop its boat's 13-story-tall sail.

Underneath the stars and stripes, however, are a bunch of turncoats.

Oracle Team USA might as well be called Oracle Team Antipodes. Of the defending champion's 23 sailors, eight hail from Australia and seven come from New Zealand. The number of Americans on Team USA? Just two, or 9% of the total.

For most of the Cup's 162-year history, American teams have dominated—with American sailors. But the sport has become increasingly professionalized in the past two decades. There is no nationality requirement, so this year's four competing teams—representing the U.S., Italy, New Zealand and Sweden—can enlist whomever they want, no matter where their passports come from.

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This helps explain why the skipper of Oracle Team USA is an Australian named
Jimmy Spithill.
He said he had no problem sailing for another country, especially since Australia doesn't have a team in this race. Besides, he said, "my wife's American."

Two of the teams have their countrymen well represented. Luna Rossa, of Italy, is 44% Italian. Emirates Team New Zealand goes even further. Thirteen of its 15 sailors, or 87%, are Kiwis, while the remaining two are Australian.

Then there's Artemis Racing, of Sweden. Among the team's 18 sailors are seven Kiwis, three Australians—and not one Swede.

An Artemis spokeswoman does note that the team's founder and owner is Swedish.

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